Police evacuated the lecture hall but some demonstrators resisted forcing officers to use tear gas. Two people were arrested.

In 2007, Swedish regional daily Nerikes Allehanda published Vilks’ satirical cartoon to illustrate an editorial on the importance of freedom of expression.

The cartoon prompted protests by Muslims in the town of Oerebro, west of Stockholm, where the newspaper is based, while Egypt, Iran and Pakistan made formal complaints.

An al Qaeda front organization then offered $100,000 to anyone who murdered Vilks — with an extra $50,000 if his throat was slit — and $50,000 for the death of Nerikes Allehanda editor-in-chief Ulf Johansson.